Biography

Sarah E.K. Smith is an Assistant Professor in Communication and Media Studies, and affiliated faculty in the Bachelor of Global and International Studies (BGInS) program. She is a 2018 Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a founding member of the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI), a multi-disciplinary partnership of academics, policymakers, and practitioners interested in interrogating and advancing cultural diplomacy. Smith completed her Ph.D. at Queen’s University and subsequently worked as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. Prior to joining the School of Journalism and Communication she held a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Transnational Studies Initiative at Harvard University and a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. In 2015, Smith was the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Diplomacy in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

Research Interests

Dr. Smith’s research is focused on modern and contemporary visual and material culture in North America, and is grounded in visual methodologies and critical theory. Recent projects have addressed diverse art forms including conceptual art, photography, and video art, as well as topics such as surveillance culture, indigenous cultural production, and cultural diplomacy. Her doctoral dissertation explored the role of visual culture—including exhibitions of visual art and works of contemporary art—in facilitating the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement at the end of the twentieth century. Dr. Smith’s current SSHRC-funded research project aims to assess the relationship of Canadian curators and museums to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.